Amanda lives near the Amazon River in northern Brazil. Who can locate the Amazon on the map? [Let a child try.]

One day Amanda arrived home from school and found a piece of paper on her front porch. It was an invitation to a series of church programs. There would be singing, a health talk, a movie about Jesus, and Bible lessons. This sounded interesting to Amanda, and she asked her mother if she could go. Her mother agreed, so Amanda went.

Making New Friends

Amanda was a little shy when she first entered the building, but she found other children her age, and she felt at home. To her surprise, other children were leading the singing and taking part in the program. Amanda liked the program.

When the meeting ended, Amanda stayed to talk with some of the children. She saw some friends from school and made some new friends. Amanda decided to return the next night. When she arrived home, she told her mother about the meeting and invited her to attend the adult meeting. But her mother said that she was too busy to go.

Amanda’s Desire

Every day Amanda invited her mother to go to the meetings with her. Finally Amanda’s mother agreed to go. Mother enjoyed the meetings and continued to attend. She even signed up to study the Bible with someone.

One evening toward the end of the series, as Amanda and her mother were walking home, Amanda told her mother, “I want to go to the Seventh-day Adventist church. Will you go with me?

If you don’t want to, I’ll go alone.”

Amanda’s mother was surprised at her daughter’s determination. She thought about it and decided that she should attend church with Amanda. The two attended church together. After studying the Bible with the pastor, the two decided to be baptized together. Amanda’s mother told the pastor that Amanda was the one who had influenced her to accept Jesus as her Lord.

Amanda’s Joy

Amanda joined Pathfinders, where she’s learning so many fun things. The club members have chosen partners who go out together to give literature to people. Amanda talks to her friends at school about Jesus and has invited them to join her small group that meets once a week in someone’s home to have fun learning about Jesus.

“The best thing I did in my life was to give my life to Jesus,” Amanda says. “He loves me so much!”

We can do as Amanda is doing. We can give our lives to Jesus. And we can give people invitations to attend meetings and encourage one another to share God’s love with our classmates and neighbors. There’s so much we can do to help others learn about Jesus. And one other thing we can do is to give our mission offering every week. Then lots more people will learn that Jesus loves them.